Page 76 of You Can Make Me

Maybe it wasn’t my place to know everything.

You trespass upon the fears of mothers

You tread upon the bonds of brothers

And it will be your undoing

How many times had I gone after a story and pushed further than I should to get to the truth, resulting in tears or angry words? I thought back to the day I’d met the damn witches. I was just an intern trying to make a name for himself. I’d been lurking in the canyon, basically stalking these two kids who a source told me were related to Nat Greene, the alleged former lover of Tess Miller. He’d been questioned about her murder, but he’d had a solid alibi, and no reporter had been able to get his side of the story. I’d wanted to be the one to get to the bottom of his connection to Tess.

The kids hung around the Canyon Store, eating ice cream in the afternoons during the summer with a group of other kids, all around high-school age. Like a creep, I’d followed them into the parking lot that day and thought I could at least find out if Nat was still around. Rumor had it he was still in the canyon, but every time I’d run searches, I couldn’t find an address for him.

I hadn’t accounted for the fact that their mom would be picking them up. She read me the riot act, told me to stay away from her family or I’d be hearing from her lawyer.

“My uncle is a broken man. He never recovered from losing Tess Miller, and every time you vultures come around he relives that loss over and over again. My father has taken care of him for years. The whole thing has been a dark cloud over us. Let it go. Leave him be, or I swear to God you’ll pay for it.”

Her pain, her anger, they hit me like a slap and left me full of shame. Then the old women implanted that vicious poem in my brain that I couldn’t get rid of.

You question the righteous

You goad the innocent

You cater to the immoral

And it will bring about your demise

By pushing for information about the carnival, had I put the innocent like Dane in danger? By letting the dreams in and trying to understand them, had I fallen into an evil man’s plan? What if by being in this house, I was putting themallin harm’s way?

Your curiosity will lead you to death’s doorstep

Your pleas will go unheard

Your bargaining will fall on deaf ears

And your life will be forfeit

So dwell on the consequences

Weigh your options

Settle your debts

And the Reaper may pass you by

But continue on this path

Remain on this road

And upon the area of rest

The swipe of the blade will be the ultimate test

That rest had absolutely come true. So how did I help Walter and Gene put this Virgil Evans away forever? How did I stop him from hurting more people? What if that night at the rest area wasn’t my last test? What if there was still more to come?

“Baby, you’re shaking. What’s going on?”

I rolled over and kissed his forehead.”I’m okay, just having some muscle spasms. Get some more sleep. I need to get up, but you need rest. I think I heard Dane. I’ll go help him cook.”

I sat up and looked back at Denny.